How many houses can be registered under the homeowner's name?
Many people may wonder about the difference between "house owner" and "householder" as listed in the house registration. It seems some may misunderstand the true meaning of ownership. According to the Civil Registration Act B.E. 2538 (1995), the roles of these two terms are explained as follows:
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How do householders in the house registration differ from house owners?
A householder is the person who is the head of the household, whether as owner, tenant, or in any other capacity. If the householder is absent, deceased, missing, or unable to perform their duties, the person responsible for caring for the house at that time is considered the householder.
A house owner is the owner of the property as stated in the land title deed or sales contract. According to the Civil and Commercial Code, this refers to the person who holds ownership or the right to use, sell, transfer, lease, and benefit from the property, including preventing others from unlawfully interfering with it.
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How many houses can one be a householder for? Can one be a householder for two houses?
The answer is: One can be a householder for any number of houses, including houses, land, and condominiums. However, if a homeowner owns more than one house, they cannot be the head of household for all of them.
The civil registration system stipulates that a person can only have one permanent residence. Therefore, a homeowner can only be registered as the owner of one house. For the remaining houses, the homeowner must appoint a head of household to oversee the movement of residents in and out of each house.
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What are the rights of a head of household in the household registration?
Once we understand the meaning of "head of household" and how many houses a person can be the head of, let's look at the roles and responsibilities of a head of household. According to the Civil Registration Act B.E. 2534 (1991), a head of household has the duty to notify the registrar of the following:
Right 1: Registering births in the house.
Right 2: Registering deaths in the house.
Right 3: Registering moves in and out of the house.
Right 4: Building a new house or demolishing a existing one.
Right 5: Applying for a house number.
This involves registering births, moves in and out, building a new house or demolishing, and applying for a house number. Notification must be made within 15 days of the death date, and within 24 hours of the time of death or discovery of the body. Failure to comply will result in a fine of 1,000 baht.
If the homeowner is unable to notify in person due to personal business, they can authorize a household member to do so. The authorized person will be designated as the caretaker of the house on the homeowner's behalf.
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Who has the right to remove a person's name from the house registration?
First, it's important to understand that the homeowner's name listed in the house registration grants them full ownership rights, including adding or removing names, residing in the house, or renting, as long as their ownership is related to the civil registration. However, they do not have the right of possession of the house.
Therefore, if a homeowner is dissatisfied with a household member and wants to evict them and remove their name, they do not have the right to do so, unless the homeowner's name is the same as the owner's name.
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What happens if the homeowner disappears or dies? Whose ownership is it?
If the homeowner's name appears in the house registration... If a person has been missing or deceased for more than 180 days, you can notify the district office to rectify the situation. You can obtain a copy of the head of household's name from the central registry and a new head of household's name, with the approval of all household members.
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Can I have my name on multiple house registration documents?
The answer is no. For people with multiple properties, especially real estate investors, while they may have several house registration documents, legally, you can only be the head of household for one property at a time.
You can use the name of the head of household or caretaker. The law doesn't allow a single person to have their name on more than one house registration document simultaneously because it affects voter registration lists. Therefore, real estate investors or working professionals who buy houses or condos can use the names of relatives, parents, siblings, etc., on other house registration documents.
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Can I leave my name blank on a house registration document?
If you can't find a relative's name to fill in, can you leave the name blank? Yes, you can. However, if you want to sell the house or condo and have owned the property for less than 5 years, you will have to pay a specific business tax as stipulated by law. If you want to avoid paying taxes, having a relative put their name on the household registration is probably the best solution.
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